How to resolve AdBlock issue? LAKEPORT, Calif. — The Lakeport City Council will hold a special meeting on Monday to adopt the city’s final budget of $37 million for fiscal year 2025-2026, following its budget workshop presentations held June 17.
The council will meet Monday, June 30, at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
The agenda can be found here.
If you cannot attend in person, and would like to speak on an agenda item, you can access the Zoom meeting remotely at this link or join by phone by calling toll-free 669-900-9128 or 346-248-7799.
The webinar ID is 973 6820 1787, access code is 477973; the audio pin will be shown after joining the webinar. Those phoning in without using the web link will be in “listen mode” only and will not be able to participate or comment.
Comments can be submitted by email to
By state law, June 30 is the city’s deadline for budget adoption.
The city’s recommended budget for fiscal year 2025-26 now sits at $37,289,272, an increase by more than 50% from the city’s 2024-25 estimated total expenditure of $24,060,022. Five years ago, it was $18,825,050.
The city’s revenue totals $31,970,097, despite lower than the recommended expenditure, showing an increase by about 100% from previous year’s revenue of $15,737,368.
The increase in revenue was not due to a growing local economy, but pumped up by special revenue funding streams such as $2.7 million from the state’s Permanent Local Housing Allocation program and $9.5 million from a federal Community Development Block Grant.
In total, these special funds came to $16,422,610, ten times the amount of $1,669,402 in 2024-25.
In the meantime, recommended General Fund allocation is $7,523,632, up from $6,285,887 last year.
Out of all expenditures proposed, salaries and benefits take up $7,288,627, increased from $6,571,328 in 2024-25.
Operation expenses take up $18,430,362, more than four times the $4,309,381 of 2024-25.
Allocations to Capital Improvement Projects, however, see a drop — from previous year’s $9,825,353 to the currently proposed $8,363,831.
The staff memo identified the “central theme” of this year’s budget: “the rapid acceleration of fixed costs outpacing revenue growth.”
The cost increase primarily stems from general liability and property insurance expenses, which have doubled over the past five years, and from rising pension obligations — significantly higher than last year and expected to double again within five years, the memo said.
Meanwhile, revenue growth remains “flat,” the staff memo noted.
Sales tax, which makes up two-thirds of Lakeport’s General Fund, has seen “modest recent gains” thanks to new retailers like Marshalls and Tractor Supply, and growth in the restaurant sector. But the memo called this core revenue source “highly volatile.”
One reason: 20% of Lakeport’s sales tax revenue comes from retail fuel sales — a source threatened as California continues its “transition away from gas-powered vehicles,” the memo said.
“The most pressing challenge facing the city of Lakeport is the steep rise in fixed operating costs — particularly in insurance, pensions, and medical benefits — which are climbing at a pace far beyond that of the City’s revenue growth,” the staff memo said.
The memo highlighted some of the city’s key goals in the upcoming fiscal year:
The city looks to finalize design and funding strategies on the South Lakeport Water Resilience and Fire Suppression project, and maintain a fully staffed police department. It also aims to complete the 2024 water and sewer main replacement — a multiple-year project that is now more than halfway completed.
Also on the list is the city’s multi-year Pavement Management Program. Projects set to be executed during fiscal year 2025-26 include rehabilitation of Lakeport Boulevard, Martin Street and Lakeshore Boulevard.
Email Lingzi Chen at
